According to “Four Leadership Trends in B2B Sales & Marketing,” a recent white paper based on insights and statistics from the most recent Sales 2.0 Conference (March 7–8 in San Francisco), up to 70 percent of a customer’s buying decision “is now made based on information he or she finds online, well before a salesperson has a chance to get involved.”

The white paper reports that the rise in purchasing power among digital customers in the B2B space is being compounded by the growing influence of peer-to-peer conversations on social media about B2B brands and products.